Rural Health
Resources by State: Massachusetts
Travel Time to Treating Facility and Mortality in Men With Prostate Cancer
Examines the association between longer travel time to treatment and survival among prostate cancer patients. Uses data from a survey of 159,943 patients from Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. Features statistics with breakdowns by two levels of population density.
Author(s): Stephan M. Korn, Filippo Dagnino, Danesha Daniels, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(12), e2546812
Date: 12/2025
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Examines the association between longer travel time to treatment and survival among prostate cancer patients. Uses data from a survey of 159,943 patients from Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. Features statistics with breakdowns by two levels of population density.
Author(s): Stephan M. Korn, Filippo Dagnino, Danesha Daniels, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(12), e2546812
Date: 12/2025
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Paying Family Caregivers: Self-direction in Medicaid Personal Care
Compares characteristics of dually eligible older adults receiving caregiving through either self-direction and non-self-direction, including personal demographics, health conditions, healthcare utilization, and rurality. Discusses rural findings in light of workforce shortages in rural communities. Includes analysis of Medicaid data from 6 states with reliable self-direction data as well as analysis of characteristics for 41 states and Washington, D.C.
Author(s): Yiqing Kuang, Katherine E.M. Miller
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(11)
Date: 11/2025
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Compares characteristics of dually eligible older adults receiving caregiving through either self-direction and non-self-direction, including personal demographics, health conditions, healthcare utilization, and rurality. Discusses rural findings in light of workforce shortages in rural communities. Includes analysis of Medicaid data from 6 states with reliable self-direction data as well as analysis of characteristics for 41 states and Washington, D.C.
Author(s): Yiqing Kuang, Katherine E.M. Miller
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(11)
Date: 11/2025
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FY 2025: HRSA's Rural Health Grants – Massachusetts Fact Sheet
HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy investments in Massachusetts in Fiscal Year 2025. Lists grant recipients, award amounts, award recipient locations, and congressional district.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy investments in Massachusetts in Fiscal Year 2025. Lists grant recipients, award amounts, award recipient locations, and congressional district.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Creation of a Telehealth Addiction Consultation Service at a Rural Hospital: A Case Study
Details the implementation and evaluation of the Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service, which facilitated medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment and provided other supports for hospital-based addiction care via telehealth consultations by community, non-hospital clinicians in rural Massachusetts. Highlights the significance of the CAC model as a support for improving access to hospital-based substance use disorder treatment in rural areas.
Author(s): Rachel Katz, Tiarra Fisher, Talia Singer-Clark, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 76
Date: 09/2025
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Details the implementation and evaluation of the Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service, which facilitated medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment and provided other supports for hospital-based addiction care via telehealth consultations by community, non-hospital clinicians in rural Massachusetts. Highlights the significance of the CAC model as a support for improving access to hospital-based substance use disorder treatment in rural areas.
Author(s): Rachel Katz, Tiarra Fisher, Talia Singer-Clark, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 76
Date: 09/2025
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Selected Rural Healthcare Facilities in Massachusetts
Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM) Evaluation Results Across 17 States (2013-2020)
Summarizes evaluation results of the State Innovation Models (SIM), which examined the ability of 17 state governments to implement and test innovative value-based payment (VBP) healthcare models across multiple payers between 2013 and 2020. Presents findings regarding the implementation and impact of 29 delivery and payment models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, behavioral health integration, and more. Covers state contracting and consensus building, practice transformation, pediatric care, behavioral healthcare, beneficiary and provider perspectives, and more. Includes a section on payment model designs tailored to unique state needs, including rural populations, as well as rural references throughout.
Additional links: A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM): Focus on State-Led Transformation - Findings at a Glance, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Summarizes evaluation results of the State Innovation Models (SIM), which examined the ability of 17 state governments to implement and test innovative value-based payment (VBP) healthcare models across multiple payers between 2013 and 2020. Presents findings regarding the implementation and impact of 29 delivery and payment models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, behavioral health integration, and more. Covers state contracting and consensus building, practice transformation, pediatric care, behavioral healthcare, beneficiary and provider perspectives, and more. Includes a section on payment model designs tailored to unique state needs, including rural populations, as well as rural references throughout.
Additional links: A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM): Focus on State-Led Transformation - Findings at a Glance, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Sustainability Resources for Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network (RPHWTN) Program Awardees
Offers guidance to awardees of the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network (RPHWTN) on creating sustainability for funded projects. Lists resources and funding opportunities for awarded projects at the national and state levels.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Offers guidance to awardees of the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network (RPHWTN) on creating sustainability for funded projects. Lists resources and funding opportunities for awarded projects at the national and state levels.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Disparities in Allergy and Asthma Prevalence among Schoolteachers
Examines prevalence of allergic and respiratory symptoms among 398 schoolteachers in Massachusetts. Includes comparisons between teachers in rural, suburban, and urban schools for health behaviors and factors associated with adverse breathing symptoms, including headache, sleep apnea, food allergy, nighttime awakening, sore throat, and more.
Author(s): Hana B. Ruran, Briana L. Mallouh, Lisa M. Bartnikas, Wanda Phipatanakul, Abhinav Kaushik
Citation: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 155(1), 223-227
Date: 01/2025
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Examines prevalence of allergic and respiratory symptoms among 398 schoolteachers in Massachusetts. Includes comparisons between teachers in rural, suburban, and urban schools for health behaviors and factors associated with adverse breathing symptoms, including headache, sleep apnea, food allergy, nighttime awakening, sore throat, and more.
Author(s): Hana B. Ruran, Briana L. Mallouh, Lisa M. Bartnikas, Wanda Phipatanakul, Abhinav Kaushik
Citation: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 155(1), 223-227
Date: 01/2025
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Syringe Access, Syringe Sharing, and Perceptions of HCV: A Qualitative Study Exploring the HCV Risk Environment in Rural Northern New England, United States
Highlights a study on syringe access for people who inject drugs (PWID), rates of syringe sharing, and perceived hepatitis C (HCV) risk in rural Northern New England. Bases findings on semi-structured interviews and breaks down data by state of residence, age, and drug of choice, among other measures.
Author(s): Eric Romo, Elyse Bianchet, Patrick Dowd, et al.
Citation: Viruses, 16(9), 1364
Date: 08/2024
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Highlights a study on syringe access for people who inject drugs (PWID), rates of syringe sharing, and perceived hepatitis C (HCV) risk in rural Northern New England. Bases findings on semi-structured interviews and breaks down data by state of residence, age, and drug of choice, among other measures.
Author(s): Eric Romo, Elyse Bianchet, Patrick Dowd, et al.
Citation: Viruses, 16(9), 1364
Date: 08/2024
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Strategies Used to Reduce Harms Associated with Fentanyl Exposure among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Multi-Site Qualitative Findings from the Rural Opioid Initiative
Explores strategies utilized by rural people who use drugs to reduce fentanyl-related harm. Analyzes interviews with 349 people who recently used opioids or injection drugs in 10 states. Discusses awareness of fentanyl contamination, highlights perspectives on common harm reduction strategies, and describes public health applications. Includes state-by-state comparisons of participant demographic data.
Author(s): Suzan M. Walters, Robin Baker, David Frank, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 154
Date: 08/2024
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Explores strategies utilized by rural people who use drugs to reduce fentanyl-related harm. Analyzes interviews with 349 people who recently used opioids or injection drugs in 10 states. Discusses awareness of fentanyl contamination, highlights perspectives on common harm reduction strategies, and describes public health applications. Includes state-by-state comparisons of participant demographic data.
Author(s): Suzan M. Walters, Robin Baker, David Frank, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 154
Date: 08/2024
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